Headcanon: Steve accidentally calling Wayne, Hopper & Mr Sinclair dad. However is not even a bit embarrassed and very loudly says "a dad is a male role model in your life whom you aspire to emulate. And whose words of wisdom & affection are held in high esteem. And I have never had such good dads to look up too." His dads are really proud of him (and yes they have to hide their tears.)
I'm crying I can't. I do wanna add though to this because I knowwwww that Steve "isn't good with words" Harrington always manages to say something gut wrenching that makes them all emotional.
SO.
Hopper starts taking him on camping trips, and at first Steve thinks it will be awkward and not fun because he isn't super fond of the woods or the outside in general. But it turns into Hopper showing Steve a lot of cool things, and it's never awkward because they find that they both enjoy silence.
Wayne takes him fishing and shows him how to work on his own car every weekend. They go out on the lake before the sun is even up, and then head back to the trailer for breakfast and a car lesson. Steve thinks Wayne will get frustrated with him if he doesn't remember something, but Wayne just smiles and shows him again.
Mr. Sinclair starts taking him to basketball games, and at first Steve is worried because Lucas is never with them and he thinks that Mr. Sinclair is somehow prioritizing time with him over Lucas. But he finds out that he just takes Lucas to different games or they watch at home because Lucas prefers it.
He gets them all gifts for Father's Day and always writes heartfelt notes in the cards. He always signs it:
Woah that's Officer Powell dressed up as chief of police, right?! That is gonna be so cool... I was wondering who would take over for Hopper. And I cannot wait to see all the kids parents together!!!!😁😁😁😁
Summary: Post-Battle of Starcourt fix-it fic. Hopper is alive, the cabin gets repaired and Monopoly is played - the Party has a winner in Monopoly.
Mike and El were sat in one of the ambulances that had come at a speeding pace towards Starcourt Mall after the battle with the Mind Flayer (constructed using the flayed people). Will was also for his mom to come back from shutting the gate (again, no thanks to the Russians), as well as Hopper.
3 cars came flying into the mall’s parking lot. One belonging to Joyce Byers (which made both Will and Jonathan perk up), after Joyce’s came Karen Wheeler’s (after she found out that her son and daughter were at Starcourt Mall, by Joyce, she came zooming down with Holly in the passenger seat - who wants to see her big brother and sister), and the final car was Claudia Henderson’s (which contained Claudia herself, Mr and Mrs Sinclair and Susan Hargrove - Max’s mom).
“MOM!” Will shouted as Joyce clambered out of the car, and he went running as fast as his legs could possibly take him, and went tumbling into her arms (they hugged each other as tightly as they possibly could, not really caring if they were suffocating because for now, the Upside Down was over).
“We did it, baby, the gate the Russians opened, it’s closed now,” Joyce said into her son’s ear, running her hand repeatedly through his hair, thankful that her baby boy was safe.
From the same car, stumbled the Chief of Police, Jim Hopper, El’s dad. “Hop,” she sighed, pushing herself out of Mike’s grip (Mike gave a little whine, not wanting to let her go, he really wanted to call her his girlfriend again, but he will give her some time after this awful battle that almost saw her dead). “HOP!” She exclaimed, running to him with a grin on her face.
He was dressed in some strange uniform (as was Joyce), but right now, it didn’t matter, because her dad was here, and was hugging her tightly and warmly that reminded her of when he read her a chapter of her story and tucked her into bed. Warm, snug, home. “I’m okay, kid, It’s over now,” Hopper says into her ear, one hand on her back, and the other in the frizzy mop of hair on her head.
“I love you, dad,” El said into his chest, which did make its way to Hopper’s ears and a tear ran down his cheek. This is what it meant to be a father, he had it with Sara, and now he has it with El - and he swore to high heaven that as long as they kept fighting, he wouldn't let anything tear them apart.
Mike watched as El reunited with her father, he didn’t really see Karen climb out of the station wagon and took Holly out. When the youngster spotted her older brother in one of the ambulances.
“MIKEY!” Holly exclaimed, running as fast as her legs would take her, eating up the distance between herself and her brother. Mike had enough of reaction time, to ditch the shock blanket and prepare himself for the attack of Holly Wheeler.
"Hey, Holls, I'm okay," Mike was able to pick Holly up (as she practically weighs nothing) and sits his baby sister on his hip. The youngest Wheeler has started sobbing on Mike's shoulder, and he can't help but feel bad for being so crappy the past couple of days (it has really taken a toll on him after El 'dumped' him).
"Mikey," Holly said again, clinging to his neck, with her face shoved into the crook of his neck.
"Michael! Thank goodness you're ok!" Karen exclaimed, her perfect hair bouncing as she jogs over and runs her hand through her son's untameable hair.
Mike sighs, knowing his mother is going to be a bit overprotective and 'mother hen-ish'. He gave her a smile (he would later understand when he has two children of his own, with El, that he feels what his mother feels).
Mike keeps smiling at his mother, as she fusses over the bandage on his forehead, and tries to clean up the remaining spot of blood, cradling his sister in his arms, when Hopper walks over with El tightly latched onto him.
"Wheeler, a word," Hopper says to him, and before Mike could even set Holly on the ground, El let go of her father, and stood behind Mike, and smiled at the little girl.
"Holly, mom, this is El, my..." Mike trailed off, not knowing what to call El, after she 'dumped his ass', and they had a short unspoken conversation.
"Girlfriend," she finished, making Mike smile happily (he got her back!). Karen gasped happily, holding her chest where her heart would be.
Karen reached over and rested her hand on her son's shoulder. "My baby got a girlfriend!" She was so happy.
Mike gently handed over his little sister into El's arms, Holly whined and when El started pulling faces at Holly, which made the girl laugh happily. Mike gave Hopper a sharp nod, and they walked away.
“I’m sorry for being so crappy, and probably the biggest asshole that you’ve probably met, and if you want to stop me from seeing El, I’ll understand,” Mike said, as soon as they were out of earshot of the three females in his life.
Hopper sighs, and took the Russian hat off his head. “No, I should have dealt with it differently, it wasn’t fair on either of you. However, we still need boundaries,” Hopper stated, the older man looked over Mike’s shoulder and watched as El ingrained herself into Mike’s family, as she tipped Holly upside down, earning squeals and giggles of delight from the small school girl.
“Boundaries, ok, that I can do,” Mike nodded, accepting that El’s father didn’t want to die this early of a heart attack courtesy of him and El...
- 3 weeks later -
The cabin was somewhat habitual, despite the holes in the roof and sides (but it was home), and the Hoppers - along with the Party helped rebuild the cabin - and each time that they did, they brought new things to keep EI entertained.
Max brought her some old comic books (including Wonder Woman and X-Men, because she thought El was a lot like Jean Grey, a name she had already heard Dustin say) as well as cassette tapes - warning her about the tape player ‘eating’ the tapes - which earned her a confused and frightened look, and Max explained how El would have to stop it at once, because it would destroy the tape, and music couldn’t play the music anymore, and she would have to use a pencil to wind it back in (Max demonstrated, and allowed El to practice in case it happened.
The boys brought some of their comic books and old board games that they didn’t play with anymore - which included Monopoly, courtesy of Lucas.
Mike and El were sat on her bedroom floor and had pieces of Monopoly money and the pieces scattered about a bit, El had read the instructions (cover to cover, even though Mike told her that it wasn’t necessary). But the thing that surprised him the most, was how well she was doing.
Mike rolled the dice and got a 4, moving him to Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. Which was owned by El... and her hotel...
“Shit!” Mike sighed, as he rather quickly running out of money, and figured he would need to declare for bankruptcy before too long.
El giggled loudly, “Pay up, Wheeler!” She had picked up calling people by their last name from Steve, who spent some time with her when Hopper was pulling a late shift at the station.
The knock was sounded on the cabin door, and Steve got up to answer, as El’s powers had yet to come back. Hopper walked in, and before he could say anything to Steve, he saw El’s bedroom door shut and went crazy.
“3 inches! KEEP THE DOOR OPEN THREE-” Hopper went storming into El’s room, expecting his daughter to be attached by the lips to the middle Wheeler child, but saw them sitting on the floor playing Monopoly - a game from his own childhood.
“Are you ok, dad?” El asked the dice in her hand, looking over her shoulder at her father. Mike reached up and paused the music playing from El’s tape player, cutting Madonna singing about angels?
Hopper blinked repeatedly, not seeing what he expected to, and nodded, drawing himself out of his head. “Yeah, kid, I’m okay,” El nodded, her mess of hair shaking around her head. “Who’s winning?” He asks, and El’s smile brightens.
“I want to pin it on ‘beginner’s luck’, but she’s killing me! She owns almost half of the spots on the board!” Mike exclaimed, running a hand through his hair which was currently being controlled the warmness of Hawkins.
Hopper smiles happily at his daughter, as he presses a hand to her shoulder, and looking down at the board, before looking into her eyes. “Show him how Hopper’s win,” he said, a smirk blossoming on his face, and showed it to Mike.
“He’ll have to de-cl-ar ba-nk-rup-cy soon!” She sounded out her words (sounding like a young toddler first learning to speak, but Hopper and Mike couldn’t be prouder of her. Hopper’s face alone was the face of an extremely proud father).
Happy father’s day to ST fathers and father figures. We love you.
Thank you, Jim, for taking care of your two girls when they needed it the most, and for being supportive of Jonathan and Will, and for being there with Mike when we all know that Ted has probably never hugged him properly, and for protecting the rest of the kids. Also, thank you for the Dad dance, we’ll never forget it.
Thank you, Benny, for being the first person that’s been kind to El after she was locked in a lab for her whole life.
Thank you, Mr. Clarke, for letting the boys explore their curiosity voyage, for helping our kids out, thank you for flattering Dustin’s Snowball look ‘cause he lookin’ very snazzy that day.
Thank you, Mr. Sinclair, for teaching your boy how to treat girls right.
Thank you, Bob, for being so brave and getting Will, Mike, Joyce and Hop out of the lab. You were the superhero this world needed.
